As many of you have heard, La Mar Carlson, a United Methodist pastor and the District Superintendent of the Washington District in Western Pennsylvania, suffered a major stroke on Sunday afternoon. La Mar, his wife Rachel, and their son Nathan have been at the center of my prayers ever since. Their extended family has been good about ministering to them in these difficult days—a ministry that includes staying in the Carlson’s home in Washington and managing their domestic responsibilities.
The following is an e-mail that I just sent to the members of our church’s intercessory prayer team. I sent the e-mail to update the prayer team concerning what I know. I asked Rachel and Nathan for permission to share my update with a wider audience. Their response was essentially this: “By all means, share it with everyone, so that all might pray.”
Here’s the e-mail that I just sent:
Hello, members of the prayer team.
Nathan Carlson asked me to stop by Mercy Hospital yesterday (Tuesday), which I gladly did. I was Nathan’s candidacy mentor in his journey toward seminary, and we have established a good friendship over the years. It was a blessing to see Nathan face to face in this difficult time.
While I was there, Rachel asked me to visit La Mar and have prayer with him. Again, I was glad to do it. It was hard to see La Mar so incapacitated, as he is such a vibrant individual. But he seemed to recognize me, blinking once for “yes” when I asked if he could hear me and even shedding some tears in the course of our prayer time.
Rachel is a strong woman of faith who seems to be holding up remarkably well, considering the circumstances. I would say the same about Nathan. They both asked for continued prayers and are very much grateful for the support and love of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
La Mar is my district superintendent. Much more importantly, La Mar is my friend and has been a faithful mentoring presence in my life for many years (since I was a seminarian, in fact). My heart is broken over this entire matter. But I know that we have a God who specializes in healing, sustenance, and deliverance. Therein is our great hope.
It all reminds me of how incredibly fragile and precious this human journey really is. One Sunday afternoon, in the middle of a lovely meal on Mother’s Day, everything changed in an instant for the Carlson family.
In one sense, La Mar, who has always been a bold and creative preacher of the Word, is preaching an important sermon to us, even in the midst of his struggle. His sermon is this: “Live every day as though it were your last. Tell the people dearest to you how deeply you love them. Cling to the Lord Jesus, who will faithfully stand beside you, both in days of health and rejoicing and in days of struggle and sadness. And live the kind of life that matters, the kind of live that foreshadows the eternity that God has prepared for us.”
Thanks for being there, my friends. Your prayer ministry means the world to me.
Gratefully,
Eric
Wow… I didn’t hear about this. I have been blessed to meet La Mar on a couple of occasions and even hear him preach. I will keep the family and La Mar in prayer during this difficult time.
May God bless La Mar with His healing
force. May He bless La Mar’s family with His strength and abiding love to help them cope with this very trying time. I know the Intercessory Prayer Team will go to God in fervent prayer on La Mar’s behalf, asking the Lord to shed His grace, His love and His healing touch to restore him to his former vibrancy.
Pastor Mark has a lot of respect for La Mar and I could tell he was affected by the news of La Mar’s stroke. BUMC is definitely praying for him!
Pray. Pray. Pray!